Back to the grind

I went back to work last week and it has been a MAJOR BUMMER. it was much harder to go back this year than last year!!

Part of it is definitely because I'm pregnant. I'm more tired and way more emotional. But most of it is because I miss my little man!!!

Our relationship grew so much over the summer. And he totally stole my heart (even more than he had). When I first went back to work he was always so excited to see me when I came home. He'd shake, stomp his feet and say hi in his high voice and give me lots of hugs and kisses. 

He still gives me loves when I pick him up. But I feel like he's not as excited and it breaks my little pregnant heart. 

Speaking of my emotional pregnant heart, I also get worried about having 2 kids. I already feel like I don't have enough time with J so I get a little sad that we will have to share our time together with little brother. Does that make me a horrible mother? Don't worry I know I will love him!

I know that my heart will expand and I will love my baby Roman just as much as J but  still I worry about it- I don't want to loose my cuddle time with J (I say as I write this while I sit next to his crib because he won't fall asleep without me, little cutie)

But even though I have lots of worries life is still good. I love my little family and I really am excited (nervous) for it to grow. And J and I will survive our new early schedule by taking our 5 o'clock naps. That's totally legal right?

Marathon

PHEW. I'm pretty sure I just got done running a life marathon. We have some very fun and very stressful past couple of weeks. 

We started with my absolute favorite vacation: the beach vacation!! There's nothing better than a week spent chilling on the beach. 

J man loved the beach this year. He ALWAYS had two fistfuls of sands If he wanted to walk somewhere hed grab his sand walk wherever, throw it, and then grab some more!

He loved the water. He was too brave! He'd run to it and I would have to chase him down.   

I love the beach! But it sure is exhausting, all that playing! Being out in the sun all day with late nights and early mornings. The memories are always worth it. 

We left early from the beach trip to go to the woodruff family reunion. J man loved the dodge ball game the first night. He'd run into the oncoming balls to grab one and throw it himself! We are lucky he never got smashed. 

Unfortunately j was not feeling well. He had a rough night and started the next day out by throwing up. But wood and I just thought he was tired (cuz we sure were!) so we stayed to party!

We had a great day with cousins at the park.  We played lots of fun games, ate good food and had great company!! It was so fun to see everyone. J loved hanging out with his older cousins! We definitely wish they could live closer to us!! 

After the reunion J was still feeling crummy so I took him into the doctor. Turns out he had hand foot mouth! Yuck. We felt so bad for infecting everyone but luckily only one cousin got it. 

Well hand foot mouth is pretty miserable. J has never been so sick before. He would wake up in the middle of the night and just scream. Poor baby. BUT sick baby or not, right after the reunion it was time to move!

It was mass chaos trying to get everything packed.  We had 4 days to pack up our house! Luckily we have amazing family who came and helped us pack, load, move and clean! We could not have done it without all of them. 

And of course after you move out, you have to move in! I think moving in is worse, I've decided. But luckily J is finally feeling better! 

Basically this is how I feel: And what I wish I could be doing

I am sooooo tired! But since I'm pregnant I'm also not sleeping at night. Haha now I only have a few days left and it's back to work. Basically I start to cry when I think about it. 

So if you need J and I we will be playing and ignoring our disasterous house 

Summer Time Fun Time

It's officially official! I'm a STAHM ( stay at home mom... I got a little excited that I could use that abbreviation) ..... For like 6 more weeks. But beggars can't be choosers! At least that's what I keep hearing

I cannot even describe how much I love staying at home with my little man. This is what life is all about and what it should be!! Sometimes we wake up early and sometimes we wake up late, and sometimes he thinks he can stay up all night long and party.... but j and I always get to spend the whole day together!

He LOVES me!! Like really loves me. He was saying "mama" all the time. He would walk around the house and say it all day everyday. It melted my heart!! Apparently I'm old news now though because he won't say iit anymore! But still I'm his person FINALLY! I've been waiting his whole life for him to be at least a little clingy! 

Wood says ill grt tired of him crying when I do things like curl my hair... You know the dangerous activities the baby can't join in. But I'm not sure I will. I secretly love this face that looks up to me and just wants me to snuggle him! Even when he's crying he's adorable. 

I have found that J is stinking funny. He loves to jabber all day long. And if he does something that makes you laugh he continues the action for the next 10 minutes. It's the best. He loves hats and sunglasses and always makes the cutest cheeser face when he puts them on. He also loves dancing and has some killer head moves that he's been working on. 

Pregnancy is getting better. I am feeling less sick these days and can even work out! Which has been so nice! It's definitely going by faster this time than it did with J. Unfortunately I feel like my tummy is growing faster! Darn it. I was actually following this fit mom account on insta and then she announced she was a week ahead of me and still has a flat tummy.... So I unfollowed her faster than you could say donut! Because that's what I like to eat when prego!

All in all life is good. Wood man is working on his application so we can reapply to PA school! Send us some prayers that we can get in! 

And feel free to be jealous that this sweet smile (and his cutest tiniest little voice) is my new alarm clock.  

Best. Alarm. Ever

Big brother

You know I'm pregnant because I stop blogging! Because you know you get pregnant and you're so excited and then you start to get sick and all of a sudden NOTHING gets done....

I must say it is pretty tricky to be working and a mom and pregnant. Unfortunately by the time I get home I only have energy for one thing instead of the ten that used to get done. So of course I choose to play with J and dishes, cleaning, laundry and dinner just doesn't happen anymore! 

Poor J man can't seem to stay healthy. It seems we only have one healthy week inbetween multiple sick weeks in a row. 

He always ends up in bed with us when he's not feeling well. So that means he sleeps with us more often not! Which wouldn't be so bad if he didn't have to sleep on my neck haha but I do enjoy my snuggles with my little love. He truly is my joy and I would do anything for this little man of mine. 

I actually think I was more excited when I got pregnant this time than I was with j... Well maybe just different excited. I'm just really excited to have and love another little human as much as I love J. I'm excited to watch J with a sibling and for them to be buddies! And I'm super excited to not be pregnant anymore (is it too early to start my countdown?) 

One of the hardest things about pregnancy for me is the negative attitude that I get. It's the weirdest feeling to not feel like yourself! To be so grumpy and moody and to have to try so hard to be positive. It's a real bummer. And of course it makes the sickness and tiredness and aches of pregnancy that much worse!!! 

But I have a good life and am super blessed. I'm so grateful for J and the love and joy he brings into our home and I'm grateful for a husband who doesn't get mad when our house is a disaster! And I am super grateful for our new little babe!

Here's to the pretend smiles until they are real! 

Picture update

J man is such an amazing eater!!! And apparently I really like taking pictures of it haha

I was pretty proud of this one: he ate balsamic chicken with carrots and tomatoes and he LOVED IT

He grabbed this cutie off the table while I wasn't looking and decided to dig in! He loved all the juice and would have eaten the whole thing had I let him. 

And of course I let him eat PB out of the jar... I mean who doesn't?

J man loves his cousins! 

And of course we are loving this warm weather and our big blue ball :)

One Year Old!!!

Oh snap! My baby is one?!! 

How cute is he though really?

How did this happen to me? Where did the time go??

This has definitely been the best year of my life. I know people usually put hardest in there, but I don't think I will. 

I am not one to sugar coat things - having a kid was a lot of work and there will definitely some really hard times in there, they just aren't what stick out to me. 

I have loved all the hard times and the good times. I could not have asked for a better baby. 

Because I want to post but am feeling slightly lazy I will give you what I wrote for Js last monthly write up:

My baby turned 1!!! How did this happen? J babe you have been my greatest adventure and my greatest joy. You have turned into quite the little man. You are a pro walker and love to walk walk walk! For about a week you would answer "what does a tiger say" and "what does a wolf say". You're over it now though...(your independence, and desire to not do as asked comes from your dad)  But you will just growl growl and growl. 

You love everybody and constantly reach for strangers and give them a hug. YOU make everyone feel so loved and special. 

You can sleep all by yourself when you want to. But when you decide you want to sleep in mom and dads bed you prefer mom. You'll be asleep and I transfer you over to dad and you crawl right back. It makes mom feel loved. (mostly afterwards when she thinks about it...)

You love the park! You love playing and going down the slide, trying new things and even just watching the kids. You have 7 teeth and haven't gotten a new one in a while. You still aren't a great chewer choke on everything, but you are eating a large variety of foods, cheese and fruit being your favorite. 

You say uh-oh moma dada and wow. You growl when you want something. Say mmmm when you want milk or make a sucking fish face. And lick your lips when you want some food. You love to giggle and love it when mom and dad chase you and say "I'm going to get you". 

You love to play with your toys and push the laundry basket with mom. 

You've grown up so fast! And are turning into a little boy!

I love every stage you've gone through and am excited for the rest. 

Congratulations you made it to the end!!! 

I put together a little video of J man's first year if you feel so inclined, love my child, or are desperate for entertainment, it is here for you!